Lineage
by beej96
Summary: My version of how Jesse, Luke, Daisy, and Bo became a family. ONESHOT.


_Disclaimer: I do not own the Dukes of Hazzard and I am making no profit whatsoever from this story._

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**Lineage**

"_Bo!" Luke snapped, "are ya gonna help me with this? Or are ya going to sit there daydreaming all day?"_

"_I am helping, Luke." Bo grinned back at him. "Someone has to make sure these boards don't fly away. There's a mighty powerful wind if ya haven't noticed."_

"_Ya think you're so funny. Now get over here. I can't hold this by myself."_

Jesse Duke sat on the porch of the Duke farm and watched as his nephews put back together the outhouse they had blown up (of all things) a few days earlier. Those boys could get into more trouble! But Youngun's do tend to take after their parents, and it hadn't been long ago that he had been watching over similar scenes with different players. Kyle, Mark, and Jeremiah. His boys. Well, his brother's boys really, but he had been close to them in a way that Uncle and Nephew just didn't cover. He allowed himself a small sad smile as he watched the ghosts of the past dance across his lawn.

One moment that stood out was the time Kyle decided to saw down a dead tree after a bad storm. He had gotten the saw stuck, with no hope of getting it out. So he got to thinking and decided that if he climbed the tree and tied a rope around what was left of the top, he would be able to pull it down. Mercy! He was lucky the tree hadn't fallen as he was climbing it. But if there's one thing Dukes seemed to have at that time it was luck, and his luck held. He had tied the rope around the top, shimmied down and started pulling. But of course it wouldn't budge. He was only a boy after all. So he called on Mark and Jeremiah to help him pull. They always did tend to do things together. Well pull they did, and with the combined strength of the three of them they had success. The tree had started its descent, and right toward them! Being the boys they were they ran as fast as they could through the small woods trying to escape the falling tree. It had seemed like such a good idea at the time. Jeremiah was the first 'casualty'. He somehow managed to get switched by a sapling that was demolished by the behemoth as it came down. It flung him 15 feet out and onto his back, knocking the breath out of him, but putting him out of harm's way. Mark and Kyle were unaware and kept running for all their might. It never occurred to them to go sideways. They actually both made it, and feeling the thud as the ground shook, they stopped to celebrate their triumph. That was their mistake. Kyle became victim to the domino effect as a smaller tree gave way and came down on his head. He blacked out, but only for a second, and when Mark went to help him, he tripped on a root and fell into the dirt giving himself a bloody nose. The three had picked themselves up and made their way back to the farm to be tended by their Aunt Lavinia, who had done much exclaiming about the foolishness of little boys. Fortunately, beyond some scrapes and bruises, they had come out fine on the other end.

Jesse had been the youngest of five brothers born to James and Eliza Duke of Hazzard County. Even with the generous age difference he had always felt closest to his oldest brother, Keith. Keith had been his rock. He made sure no harm came to Jesse and showed him all the best places to fish in Hazzard. When Jesse married the love of his life, Lavinia, Keith had been his best man. And when Lavinia passed, so soon after the death of his own father, Keith moved his family right onto the farm and helped Jesse run it. Keith's own wife had passed giving birth to their youngest, Jeremiah. Jesse had always hoped that he and Lavinia would be able to start their own family, but the Lord had had other ideas. He had thought the sun would never shine again, then Keith and his boys had brought the light back into his life. Kyle, Mark, and Jeremiah. His Nephews. His salvation. And oh, how they loved their 'Uncle Jesse'. At the time, that title had been new, but now he'd swear some people thought 'Uncle' was his first name. "Comes with the territory, I guess," Jesse thought to himself. "When you start outliving your kin, people forget you ever were anybody else." He leaned back in his rocking chair and surveyed the sight before him. Bo and Luke were still at it, and Daisy, bless her heart, was hanging out the laundry to dry before heading off to work. He had a special place in his heart for poor Daisy, his little girl. "I just hope the Duke line doesn't end with those three." He sadly thought.

His brother Keith, had passed two years after moving back to the farm. It was a freak accident. He had been helping out a neighbor with some faulty machinery and ended up a victim of bad circumstance. His boys were devastated and had turned to their Uncle for comfort. Without them depending on him, Jesse knew he would have been lost in the grief. So many tears in so short a time. In a span of only three years, he had gone from husband and brother to Patriarch. No matter he still had one brother left. Ray and his wife had long since left Hazzard and showed no signs of ever coming back. Shoes that were well worn now, had felt a mite uncomfortable at the time.

Keith's sons were good strong boys, raised by a good man. They knew that in the tough times family banded together and that was what they did. For themselves and for their Uncle Jesse. Kyle had stepped up for his brothers, being the oldest he was accustomed to looking out for them. He knew a farm took work, and that his uncle couldn't do it on his own. It was time for 'Dukes to step up and be Dukes' as his father had always said. He started by taking up where his father had left off. Moonshining had been a long proud tradition in their family and he determined it would not end with them. They were known, after all, for the best shine this side of Hazzard. Mark and Jeremiah helped too. They tilled the land by day and drove corn whiskey by night. They worked through the pain. They kept the farm alive, and their Uncle too, they suspected. But boys grow into men eventually, and time slows for no one.

It was Mark who left first. He had always had a bit of wanderlust, and he met the girl of his dreams because of it. He had decided at a young age that there had to be more to life than what Hazzard had to offer and he saved what money he could to take pilot lessons. He had dreams of someday flying a commercial airline, but for now he justified it with thoughts that if he could learn dust cropping, he'd earn good money and be able to support his family and their farm. His life took a fateful turn when he met a girl in Capital City where he was taking his classes. It had seemed harmless enough, but he had found they both had the same ambitions, and they fell in love at a dizzying pace. They were married soon after they met, and traveled the world together before settling back in Capital City. After marrying Rose, he hardly ever came back to Hazzard. Life just got in the way.

Kyle had been the next to leave. Though he did stick around and marry a local girl. From the minute he laid eyes on her, Beth was the only one for him. And after they married they moved to a small house close to the farm and still worked side by side with Jesse and Jeremiah every day.

Jesse remembered thinking that Jeremiah would never leave. Not that he wanted him to. But while Kyle and Mark had both started families, Jemmy, as they called him, was still chasing every skirt in Hazzard. When Rachel came along, she stopped him in his tracks. They were married and out of the farm within the year, and Jesse had once again found himself alone. This time though, it was a different kind of alone. While never blessed with children of his own, he now found himself surrounded by an ever growing family. He even 'mid-wifed' some of his own nephews. There really weren't any hospitals close to Hazzard at the time. Kyle and Beth had been the first. Their son Lucas was born on a cooler than normal day in September. That same year, in December, his grandnephew by another brother's offspring, Vance, had been born and his parents decided to move back to Hazzard to reconnect. A girl, Daisy had followed shortly after, born to Mark and Rose who were well established in Capital City. He got out to visit them a few times, but travel was hard with a farm to run, and they never seemed able to come to him. By the time little Beauregard was born to Jem and Rachel, Jesse found himself with five grandnephews right in Hazzard, plus one on the way. The Dukes were beginning to prosper again. And that's always when the world seems to come crashing down.

Beth was almost eight months pregnant when she went into early labor. Kyle had rushed her to the hospital and left Luke with his Uncle Jesse. Because he was born early, baby Judd had to be placed in an incubator until his body could catch up with his circumstance. Kyle and Beth rarely left his side knowing four year old Luke was well taken care of at the farm. Two weeks into his stay Kyle and Beth had felt comfortable enough to take a dinner on the town. While they were out, the hospital had a fire. Judd was lost, along with three other babies that day.

The Dukes were no strangers to sorrow at that point, but it was a hard pill to swallow and Kyle and Beth would never recover from their guilt at leaving Judd's side. At the tender age of four, Lucas Duke learned what loss meant. He had been excited for the day when his baby brother would finally come home. He took his role very seriously and it had been torn away from him. Time passed slowly for all of them in the year after Judd's death. Little Luke satisfied his need to be needed, by helping to care for his newest cousin Beauregard. They spent most of their time right on the farm playing with cousins Coy, Jeb, and Vance, while all their daddies worked the land.

With two years passing since the fire and no change, Jeremiah watched his brother with growing concern. He had hoped that as time passed, healing would begin, but Kyle and Beth were shells of their former selves. He could tell they hadn't given up completely, but they seemed afraid to let Luke out of their sight. They now looked at life with heavy hearts as if every moment was the last. It was as if their strength had died right along with Judd, who never really got the chance to live. In late August of that year, Jeremiah decided to take matters into his own hands. Kyle had always been there for him when he needed him, he was going to be there for Kyle. At that moment he made one of the most important phone calls of his life. He called Mark.

Together, Mark and Jeremiah decided that a change was in order. Mark was now working the local airport and had access to a small twin engine. He suggested maybe the three of them (with their wives) should take a trip out west. They could go to California, like they'd dreamed of when they were younger and see some of the sites the world had to offer. Kyle had always expressed an interest in the Gold Rush and maybe they could find some cool Ghost Towns to explore. Jeremiah thought that was a great idea! He knew Uncle Jesse would watch the kids, and wouldn't it be nice for Daisy to stay on a farm for a change. He pointed out, once again, that he didn't think city living was good for a girl of her age. She would be turning six soon. Mark, as usual, laughed it off. Daisy was a precocious child and comfortable no matter what her surroundings. She was already turning into a pretty fair tomboy, but she was the only girl born to the Duke family in three generations, and they were all protective of her.

When Jem had approached Kyle about the trip, he was hesitant. He told Jem that it didn't seem right to leave the farm for so long. They had responsibilities to the family. But Jem had cut him off. Jesse could remember the speech he gave well. "You say we have responsibilities to our family, but what about your responsibility to yourself? I've been watching you and Beth closely, and all you do is go through the motions. It's been almost three years, Life Happens. You and Beth, You need this trip. We all do. It'll be like old times. You, me and Mark."

Kyle had tried to interrupt him, but Jemmy had plowed ahead. "We've come through so much together. We can get through this too. How about we'll only go for two weeks? Please? That shouldn't be too much of a burden on Uncle Jesse. You know how much he loves Bo and Luke; they practically live with him now. And Daisy, don't you think it's time the boys got to meet their cousin Daisy? Who knows? Maybe if we work him hard enough, we can get Mark to move back to Hazzard. It'll be fun."

"Well, when you put it that way." Kyle had agreed. And a trip was born.

Jesse sighed. He remembered how pleased he had been that his nephews were reconnecting. How when they came to him and asked him if he would take charge of the kids, he could see some of the youthfulness back in their eyes as they thought about their impending trip. And to have Mark back in Hazzard, even if it was only for a short time...well...to say the atmosphere had been charged was an understatement. Two weeks was the agreed upon time frame. Rachel, Beth, and Rose had immediately started making plans, hoping they would be able to do some shopping in San Francisco. The house had been so full of joy. And little Daisy had fit right in with her cousins. She could be seen ruling the yard when they played. He had known then that she would grow up to be a beautiful and independent woman. Just like her mother.

Kyle, Mark, Jeremiah, Beth, Rose, and Rachel left Hazzard for San Francisco on a beautiful day in March. They left in good spirits, remembering their childhoods. They knew their children, Bo, Luke, and Daisy were in good hands with Uncle Jesse and that they would have no worries while they were gone. Jeremiah had been right. The trip had been the best of their lives. It had also been their last. For each night they were gone, they would call and check in with Jesse and the kids. They always sounded happy and had many interesting stories to tell. And they promised more for when they came back. Then came the call that had truly changed Jesse's life forever.

"Mr. Duke?" a voice on the phone queried.

"Yes."

"I'm afraid I have some bad news." Jesse dropped the phone.

"_Uncle Jesse! Uncle Jesse? You still with us?"_

_Jesse was shaken from his reverie and looked up at Bo and Luke who were standing over him looking concerned. "I'm sorry, what is it you boys wanted?"_

"_Well, the outhouse is done. And Daisy left hours ago."_

"_Yeah, we was wondering what you wanted to do about dinner, but you've been just sitting there staring off into space. I think we called your name six or seven times."_

"_What was ya thinkin' about?"_

"_Oh now boys, you know at my age a man's mind has a right to wander. I was just lost in the past for a minute there. I'm alright now. Didn't mean ta worry ya. As for dinner, well seems like it might be the perfect night for a treat. I believe I might have an apple pie cooling in the kitchen."_

With that said the boys raced inside to clean up. They were never ones to turn down dessert, especially Bo. Jesse got up too, and put his hand on the latch, but he took a moment to look back at the yard as Bo and Luke faded into the house. He thought back to those early days. The sadness had been overwhelming. But they had all had each other and they had been strong. Strong in life and strong in faith. "Y'all would be so very proud." He whispered. And with that he turned and walked into his kitchen, closing the door behind him.


End file.
